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l. BIBBY.

ELECTRIC FURNACE APPLICATION FILED MAR-6.19m.

1,308,273. Patented July 1, 1919.

l ll IIIIII //V VENTOR A TTURIVEYJ JAMES BIBBY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

ELECTRIC FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 1919.

Application filed March 6, 1919. Serial No. 281,055.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BIBBY, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at London, England, have invented Improvements in or Relating to Electric Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

In an electric furn ace operating on the are system it has been proposed for the purpose of preventing the passage of flame through the roof around the electrode extending therothrough to provide hole-closing means comprising a number of segments or blocks arranged to surround and to bear, under the action of gravity, closely against the electrode.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved means of this character, the principal feature being the employment of a form of divided ring in which, while it is supported as before so that all the segments thereof incline inwardly and downwardly and act by gravity to closely surround and bear against the electrode, the shape of the ring in cross section is such as to facilitate self adjustment of the segments and thus better to accommodate irregularities in the electrode.

Another feature of the invention consists in combining with a set of such improved rings in superposition and a surrounding casing, means for preventing the passage of flame, gases or air between the casing and the superposed rings and seat or support for the latter.

In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Figure 1 shows in vertical section, hole closing means according to the invention applied around the electrode of an electric furnace of the kind referred to. Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1 but with the superposed rings and electrode removed. 3 shows, in plan, one of the divided rings.

In the arrangement shown, a, a are the superposed rings bearing upon one another and carried by a lower support 6 surrounding the hole 0 in the roofd of an electric furnace through which an electrode e extends. The inwardly and downwardly inclined upper surface or seat 5' upon which it is necessary for the lowermost ring a to bear is shown as formed directly in an ordinary water circulating box 6. Each ring a is divided into three segments, as shown in F ig. 3, where (1' represents narrow spaces between the adjacent ends of such segments. For the purpose of the invention, each ring is advantageously made of the curvilinear shape in cross section, shown in Fig. 1, and with its inner peripheral portion made comparatively thin, to facilitate self adjustment of the respective segments by enabling them to rock one on the other.

f is a vertical casing carried by the an nular support 7; and serving as a receptacle for the superposed rings a. This casing according to the invention also serves to hold means to prevent the passage of flame, gas or air between the superposed rings a and also between the lowermost of such rings a and the seat 6. Such means may comprise loose refractory material in a granular or like condition placed between the rings and casing. Or such means may be in the form of a guard ring 9 of metal or refractory material, for instance fireclay, adapted to rest on the uppermost ring a as shown, its outer diameter being such as closely to fit the inner surface of the casing f. Or both loose refractory material and a guard ring such as shown may be used.

What I claim is:-

1. In an electric furnace, annular hole closing means, com rising a segmentally divided ring of curvi. inear shape in cross section the inner peripheral portion being thinner than the outer peripheral portion, substantially as described.

2. In an electric furnace, annular hole closing means, comprising a set of segmentally divided rings of curvilinear shape in cross section, superposed and adapted to adjust themselves automatically in sealing position with a rocking motion under the action of gravity, substantially as described.

3. In an electric furnace, annular hole closing means, comprising a set of segmentally divided rings arranged in superposition, a casing surrounding said set of rings and means adapted to effect a seal between the casing and rings, substantially as described.

4. In an electric furnace, annular hole closing means, comprising a set of segmentally divided rings arranged in superposition, a casing surrounding said set of rings so that a space is left between the easing and rings, and a guard ringengaging said easing" and rings, substantially as descnibed.

5. In an elemtrie furnace, annular hole closing means, cmnprising an inwardly and downwardly inclined stationary seat, a easingcarried by said seat, ii set of segmentail'ly divided rings arranged in superposition upon said seal; and loosely Within said casing and each of curvilinear shape in cross section, and a guard ring fitting the interior of said casing and in dose content with one of the rings.

Signed at London, l lngland, this 17th day of F-ebi'uary, 191i).

JABIES BIBBY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for flve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 10; W 

